Frederick Wallace

Inducted into the Shell Rimula Wall of Fame at Reunion 2010.

Frederick Albert Wallace was born in South Melbourne in July, 1909, growing up there with his brothers Frank and Bert, and his sister Mary. Fred's father, Frank, had a horse-drawn carrier business delivering around South Melbourne.

After leaving school Fred worked at the South Melbourne timber yards and later went logging. Around 1930-31 Fred went to the Mallee and worked on farms in the Turriff and Patchewollock area. After marrying Jessie McMaster at Warracknabeal in 1932, the depression set in and the family moved to where there was work.

At Stawell Fred found work making roads with the Country Roads Board and was away for weeks at a time. In 1936-37 Fred bought his own Bedford truck and worked on the highways with the CRB and on the channel system with the scoops and equipment around the Mallee. With the start of WWII, Fred's trucks were commandeered by the Armed Forces. Fred enlisted on the 22nd of May 1943 and was an instructor in making roads in New Guinea after bombings of the airstrips. After the war, Fred was compensated for his truck so he bought a British Bedford and again worked with the CRB. Fred bought wood and sold it from his truck when he lived in Box Hill with his family at his parent's home. He also worked at Essendon Airport making runways.

Early in the 1950s Fred worked with the CRB around Yarragon and Sale and on the holding basin for the Glen Maggie Weir. He also worked on the road into Walhalla. Fred became overseer at Morwell for the making and widening of the Strzelecki Highway on the Morwell-Mirboo North road to the SEC brown coal gass producing factory. In the mid 1950s Fred sold his truck and continued overseeing the road works. In 1965 Fred successfully applied for the position of road master of Victoria and worked at this job until he retired from the CRB in 1974, aged 65. Fred was with the CRB for 37 years. He passed away on the 15th of March 1983.

Fred and Jess had seven children. Son, Frank, has carried on in the transport industry as have his two grandsons, Tony and Glen, who work in Victoria and Western Australia.